Carve out a small market segment that you can become an expert in. Make sure this is a place you will enjoy living in and can develop a product or service.
To find your niche market you need to take an inventory of your skills and talents. However, just because you have a special skill for something does not mean you enjoy doing it. This reminds me of a girl I took piano lessons with. Our teacher was a high-strung man who screeched and yelled at us when we missed a note. I quit after a couple of lessons but my friend’s mother made her stick with it. She became a fine pianist and played for the church choir.
Years later I ran into her around the holiday season and asked if she was still playing for the church. She told me her children wanted to buy her a piano for Christmas. She told them if they brought a piano into her house she would take an axe to it. Because she was forced to study with a crazed teacher she ending up hating to play even though she was could read music and was highly skilled.
In order to grow your small business you have to enjoy the work you are doing. It would be hard to become successful in a business you hate. Besides, what would be the point? You can work for someone else and be miserable. The reason you want to start your own business is so you can create the life you choose to live doing things you love doing.
Since not everything you do to grow your business is fun it is important for you to outsource or delegate those tasks you are not particularly good at or you simply do not like doing.
Another reason to hone in on a narrowly defined market is because it is easier to dominate and stand out in small niche. Focusing on your ideal customer and developing a specialty that you are strong in means higher profits and lower expenses. Trying to grow in too broad a market saturated with competitors make you tempted to compete on price which will hamper the growth of your small business and reduce profits margins. Also, appealing to the masses will increase your marketing budget.
To summarize:
- Carve out a niche market you can dominate or stand out in.
- Become an expert in a field you love and have a talent or skill.
- Outsource and delegate task you do not enjoy doing or are not good at.
- Never compete on price alone.
- Focus on your ideal customer.
- Develop a specialty product or service in an area your strength and experience.
Following these tips will help you grow your small business as big as you want.
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